Four PFI members arrested in Maharashtra’s Panvel

The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrested four members of the banned outfit, Popular Front of India (PFI), from the Panvel area near Mumbai on Thursday.

According to Maharashtra ATS, the four arrested PFI members have been identified as Abdul Rahim Yakub Sayyad, Moiz Matin Patel, Mohamad Asif Khan, and Tanvir Hamid Khan. Abdul Rahim Yakub Sayyad is the secretary of PFI’s Panvel unit. The arrests were made around 4 a.m. on Thursday after receiving information of their meeting in Panvel.

The arrested persons were booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967. The case was registered at Kalachowki Police Station in Mumbai. Further investigation is underway.

The Maharashtra ATS had earlier arrested 22 people in connection with one of the ongoing cases related to the PFI for allegedly carrying out unlawful activities.

It is pertinent to mention that the Central Government has recently imposed a five-year ban on the Popular Front of India (PFI).

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) made the announcement through a recently issued notification declaring “the PFI and its associates or affiliates or fronts as an unlawful association with immediate effect”.

Alongwith PFI, the ban was also imposed on its fronts including Rehab India Foundation (RIF). Campus Front of India (CFI), All India Imams Council (AIIC), National Confederation of Human Rights Organization (NCHRO), National Women’s Front, Junior Front, Empower India Foundation and Rehab Foundation, Kerala as an “unlawful association”.

As per the inputs received by both the National Investigation Agency (NIA) as well as the Enforcement Directorate (ED), “the PFI has been raising and collecting substantial funds from abroad in a well organized and structured manner”.